Life_under_Siege_The_Jews_of_Magdeburg_under_Nazi_Rule.pdf

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was not restricted in her movements, nor subjected to the same level of
persecution, technically. However, the reality for such spouses was different. In
remaining devout in her adopted Judaism and a loyal wife and caring mother, she
was subjected to the same measures by default. However, as one of the Freibergs’
sons recalled, his mother’s access to areas off limits to Jews slightly improved the
quality of their wretched life, as revealed in the following quotation:
I was a fantastically fast reader and Mum used to get me books from the
library. Mum was free to move around wherever she wanted to. I remember
she used to get me two books and by the time it got dark I had finished them,
and I would ask if she would get me another two and she would say: “No, not
today, I’ll get you another two tomorrow.” So reading was one big thing.
I remember one day I happened to be walking past this shop and there was a
queue and I just covered my Star of David and joined the queue and they had
vegetables and when I got home my mother said: “I’ll go down too!” And she
joined the queue for some more. But it was a rare event. 183
Whilst Elli Freiberg endured the humiliating conditions under which both she and
her family were forced to live, she, nevertheless, used her position to the family’s
advantage. No doubt, some of the staff at any of the venues where she went would
have known of her situation. However, she did remain free to move about the city
and through this attempted to improve the difficult lives of her family.
The examples of the situations of the Karliner and the Freiberg families
demonstrate the clear distinction when it came to their persecution. As active
members of the Jewish community, both men and their children were subjected to
the same persecutions as other Jews, whilst the persecution of their spouses
occurred indirectly owing to their marital situation.
The Gestapo in Magdeburg consistently monitored and acted on any
anomalies in the pedigrees of the city’s population. In August 1944, the case of
forty-five-year-old, Rudolf August came to its attention. Originally from Berlin,
183 Name withheld, op. cit., 13 July 2004.